With the conclusion of mandatory mincamp last week, the Bears have officially completed their offseason program.
Players, coaches and the front office will now be on break until training camp begins on July 26.
Here’s a schedule of upcoming important dates, courtesy of the Tribune:
June 23-29 – Rookie symposium (Aurora, Ohio)
July 11 – Supplemental draft (if necessary)
July 24 – Bears players report to training camp
July 26 – First training camp practice at Olivet Nazarene University
Aug. 3 – Family Fest practice at Soldier Field
Aug. 9 – Bears at Carolina, 7 p.m.
Aug. 15 – Chargers at Bears, 7 p.m.
Aug. 23 – Bears at Raiders, 9 p.m.
Aug. 27 – Roster cutdown from 90 to 75 (3 p.m. deadline)
Aug. 29 – Browns at Bears, 7 p.m.
Aug. 31 – Roster cutdown from 75 to 53 (5 p.m. deadline)
Sept. 1 – Practice squads may be formed (11 a.m.)
Sept. 3 – Clubs may be able to place a player on reserve/injured — designated to return (3 p.m.)
Sept. 8 – Season opener, Bengals at Bears, noon
Jay Cutler gettin’ all married and shit.
Via CBS Chicago:
The Bears have released second-year tight end Evan Rodriguez.
The release comes in the wake of Rodriguez’s second arrest this offseason.
The 24-year-old tight end out of Temple was arrested in March for disorderly conduct and again in May for DUI.
Following Rodriguez’s DUI arrest, he released the following statement:
”I am deeply sorry for the incident that occurred the other night. I want to apologize to the entire Bears organization, my teammates, coaches and Bears fans everywhere. I realize that I made a very poor decision. I know that more is expected of me and that I let a lot of people down that are counting on me. I will make positive changes in my life so that this doesn’t happen again.”
Speaking to the media last week, Bears general manager Phil Emery said he was “disappointed” in Rodriguez.
“Evan is a very likeable guy,” Emery said. “We have talked. Disappointed. I would use the word extremely.”
The Bears drafted Rodriguez in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft.
(Source: chicago.cbslocal.com)
#Bears have traded former 1st rd pick Gabe Carimi to the Buccaneers for a draft pick. Adam Jahns first reported the move.
Pick isn’t conditional so Bears will definitely get something back in return. Goodbye, Gabe. We barely knew ye.
Update: The Bears will receive the Bucs 6th round pick in next years draft.
“I’m ecstatic. I’ve never been around better coaches. Lovie [Smith]: amazing coach, amazing man. Coach [Mike] Shanahan: amazing coach, one of the gurus of the game. Josh McDaniels: One of the gurus on offense. But what we have here in coach Kromer and coach Trestman, their leadership on offense is amazing. I’ve never been around it.” —
Bears WR Brandon Marshall
(Source: chicago.cbslocal.com)
Chicago Bears fullback Evan Rodriguez apologized Sunday for what he called “a very poor decision” that led to his second arrest since March on Friday, when Illinois State Police ticketed him for driving under the influence, speeding and improper lane change.
“I am deeply sorry for the incident that occurred the other night. I want to apologize to the entire Bears organization, my teammates, coaches and Bears fans everywhere. I realize I made a very poor decision. I know that more is expected of me, and that I let a lot of people down that are counting on me,” Rodriguez said in a statement.
“I will make positive changes in my life so that this doesn’t happen again,” he said.
The arrest stemmed from a traffic stop in which police pulled over Rodriguez on I-90 at Hubbard at approximately 3:30 a.m. Friday. The Bears released a statement saying they were aware of the arrest.
“We are aware of the reports regarding Evan Rodriguez,” the team said. “We are currently gathering information to learn more about the circumstances surrounding the situation.”
The latest incident likely significantly jeopardizes Rodriguez’s tenure with team, considering he was arrested in Miami Beach, Fla., in March for resisting an officer without violence and disorderly intoxication after a car in which he was a passenger was involved in a traffic incident.
Prosecutors eventually dropped those charges, but general manager Phil Emery expressed disappointment about the March incident, and recently made it clear the tight end “was re-educated on my expectations,” when the team kicked off offseason work.
A fourth-round pick in 2012 out of Temple, Rodriguez played 12 games as a rookie and started five, contributing four catches for 21 yards.
Reddit.com/r/NFL’s own dbeat threw together lock screen schedules for all 32 NFL teams. Here’s the one for the Bears!
Two sources have told the Tribune the Bears will retire Ditka’s No.89 in a ceremony during the Dec. 9 “Monday Night Football” game against the Cowboys at Soldier Field.
(Source: chicagotribune.com)
Brian Urlacher, former Chicago Bears All-Pro linebacker, announced his retirement from the NFL via Twitter on Wednesday, three days shy of his 35th birthday.
Urlacher was an unsigned free agent but spent his entire career in Chicago and retires as a Bear.
“After spending a lot of time this spring thinking about my NFL future, I have made a decision to retire,” Urlacher wrote in a statement.
“Although I could continue playing, I’m not sure I would bring a level of performance or passion that’s up to my standards. When considering this, along with the fact that I could retire after a 13-year career wearing only one jersey for such a storied franchise, my decision became pretty clear. I want to thank all of the people in my life that have helped me along the way. I will miss my teammates, my coaches and the great Bears fans. I’m proud to say that I gave all of you everything I had every time I took the field. I will miss this great game, but I leave it with no regrets.”
(Source: chicagotribune.com)
“You guys have a good one.” —
Lance Briggs’ response to reporters when asked how he felt about Brian Urlacher not finding work in the NFL.
(Source: chicago.cbslocal.com)